It was warm. Warm and catastrophic all at once as it grew stronger above, over, within, under, and all around.

They say that kissing is how souls meld. I could have sworn in that instant that it was true.

Maybe if I hadn't kissed him, I wouldn't be in this situation now. I wouldn't have come to him in my deepest troubles.

But I kissed those full lips of his; livelier than roses, softer than anything I'd imagined.

What I wouldn't have given to be nineteen again, in that moonlit moment, instead of twenty-five and a little more bitter.

He wasn't thinking of this as we sat in the Great Cabin. I knew he wasn't. "I'm sorry for being such a bother, Peter," I said at last.

He shook his head. "No, you weren't a bother. You never could be, even if you tried,"

I wanted to laugh and to cry. He really was the same. That much I knew; our souls did meld after all. "I was thinking about what a foolish girl I used to be,"

He gave me an odd smile. "We had our days,"

I clasped my hand around his. "I do not know what I would do without you. You're unexpectedly becoming such a blessing to me,"

He nodded. "I could never hurt you, Julia. Not even if I tried,"

Tags: "a duel of the great guns", character introspection, first-person pov, julia, peter/julia

The Carter saga is a fiction series I am drawing up about the life and times of Peter Clarke Carter, an English naval officer during the Napoleonic Wars. There are about nine stories I have in the works, each covering one year from 1805 up to 1814..

The difficulties that Peter has in his naval career are only exacerbated by the complications in his personal life. He has a long standing enemy in Charles Thancery, an officer he crossed in his lieutenant days. He always has to sort out the myriad misadventures of his siblings Philip and Gabrielle, as well as of his friends Andrew Mcdaughtery, James Goldberg, and Icarus Maused. He acquires a stubborn protege, Dan Meyers. However his most tangled issue is this: he is in love with his best friend, Julia--who happens to get married off before he can make a move.

The stories in the Carter Saga are arranged as thus:

1. The Gardner Command: The mission that started it all: how Peter and Charles came to be at odds, how the HMS Pallas suffered a mutiny, and how Peter realized a little too late that he had fallen for Julia Hamilton.

2. Running the Gauntlet: In which Peter finds himself the subject of a wager in the Meditteranean command, as well as the mediator in Andrew Mcdaughtery's personal life.

3. Captain Carter: Peter's first command takes him to the West Indies, where he finds himself saddled with two bickering midshipmen and a death threat--that may not be all that it seems.

4. Unforgettable Shipmates: Peter has to rendezvous with Captain Birmingham in South America. Julia Birmingham (nee Hamilton), and two Mcdaughterys come along for what promises to be a voyage that could make or break their little band.

5. Flying the Pennant: The Toulon mission holds more for Peter: intrigue, the danger posed by a French ship the Niobe, a prospect in Seniorita Soledad Tordesillas, a fright concerning his sister Gabrielle, and a revelation about Captain Birmingham's personal life.

6. Striking the Topgallants: In the aftermath, Captain Birmingham is suddenly murdered. Charles implicates Peter on the basis of the latter's former attachment to Julia. Peter fights to clear his name, come clean to Julia, as well as frustrate a French captain wrecking havoc in the fleet.

7. A Duel of the Great Guns: Spies endanger vital operations in the Peninsular War. Peter teams up with his old friends to ferret out the spies, as well as to discover the true legacy of the Hamilton and the Carter families.

8. The Orient Pearls: War breaks out with America. Peter struggles to keep some vital treasure from falling into the American navy's hands, all the while getting around to finally courting Julia.

9. An Ignominy of Names: While awaiting a promotion, Peter is dispatched again to the Indies, where they must reform a decrepit squadron.

10. From Lapel to Flag: Admiral Carter's shore leave is rudely interrupted by a perilous mission to the continent to stop the mobilization of Napoleon's troops.

Tags: author's notes, plot

Author's note: This is one of the "complications" in the Carter saga...read on...

This is set much later in the "Gardner Command". The mutiny hasn't broken out yet, but the HMS Pallas is in India, where they have had a run in with a French ship scouting the area, the Ulysses. The Pallas is rescued by the Hercules, a frigate captained by Thomas Birmingham. After the fight, Peter brings Julia Hamilton to meet her father.

Not You

Peter wisely hung back until Commodore Hamilton had finished talking with his daughter. Only then did he dare to step forward. "Commodore, it is a pleasure to see you well," he said.

Commodore Hamilton smiled. "And you too, Peter. No need to be so formal around an old family friend, my boy. So how has my girl been throughout this mission?"

Peter forced himself not to meet Julia's embarrassed eyes. "She was a good shipmate. She was a great help during the voyage, difficult as it was," he reported. "Are you sure this is her first voyage, Sir?"

The commodore burst out laughing. "Julia told me that she wouldn't have gotten by without your help, and for that I must thank you. Your father would have been very proud of you, Peter."

Peter nodded awkwardly. "Sir, there is a matter I wish to speak to you about," he began just as the door opened.

"Lieutenant Carter, have you seen--oh, I am sorry for the interruption, Commodore," Thomas said quickly. The young captain was out of breath and obviously flustered.

Commodore Hamilton looked up. "Ah, I see you have already met. How so?"

"The Pallas was engaged in action near the bay. Captain Birmingham helped us get to safety," Peter explained.

"Most fortunate," Commodore Hamilton grinned. "Have you met him already, Julia?"

"We weren't properly introduced, but yes," Julia said.

Commodore Hamilton motioned for Thomas to come closer. "Thomas, meet my daughter Julia Hamilton. Julia, may I present your future husband, Captain Birmingham."

At these words, Peter felt as if someone had shoved a cannonball into his stomach.

Tags: "the gardner command", character, complication, julia/thomas, peter/julia, plot

What I'm posting now is a draft of the first chapter of my novel "The Gardner Command". This is the first of the lengthy adventures of Peter Clarke Carter, officer and sailor of the Royal Navy in 1805. Note that these are purely fictional despite some inspiration from the adventures of nautical legends of the day.

Synopsis of the "Gardner Command": What promises to be a disappointing mission to India turns dangerous for Lt. Peter Carter when he is faced with mutiny on the HMS Pallas as well as the company of the hellion Julia Hamilton.

( From Topgallants to Waist )

Tags: "the gardner command", plot, story bit